Once on a time there was a man who had a meadow, which lay high up on
the hill-side, and in the meadow was a barn, which he had built to
keep his hay in. Now, I must tell you, there hadn't been much in the
barn for the last year or two, for every St. John's night, when the
grass stood greenest and deepest, the meadow was eaten down to the
very ground the next morning, just as if a whole drove of sheep had
been there feeding on it over night. This happened once, and it
happened twice; so at last the man grew weary of losing his crop of
hay, and said to his sons--for he had three of them, and the youngest
was nicknamed _Boots_, of course--that now one of them must go and
sleep in the barn in the outlying field when St. John's night came,
for it was too good a joke that his grass should be eaten, root and
blade, this year, as it had been the last two years. So whichever of
them went must keep a sharp look-out; that was what their father
said.
Well, the eldest son was ready to go and watch the meadow; trust him
for looking after the grass! It shouldn't be his fault if man or
beast, or the fiend himself, got a blade of grass. So, when evening
came, he set off to the barn, and lay down to sleep; but a little on
in the night came such a clatter, and such an earthquake, that walls
and roof shook, and groaned, and creaked; then up jumped the lad, and
took to his heels as fast as ever he could; nor dared he once look
round till he reached home; and as for the hay, why it was eaten up
this year just as it had been twice before.
The next St. John's night, the man said again, it would never do to
lose all the grass in the outlying field year after year in this way,
so one of his sons must just trudge off to watch it, and watch it well
too. Well, the next oldest son was ready to try his luck, so he set
off, and lay down to sleep in the barn as his brother had done before
him; but as the night wore on, there came on a rumbling and quaking of
the earth, worse even than on the last St. John's night, and when the
lad heard it, he got frightened, and took to his heels as though he
were running a race.
Next year the turn came to _Boots_; but when he made ready to go, the
other two began to laugh and to make game of him, saying:
"You're just the man to watch the hay, that you are; you, who have
done nothing all your life but sit in the ashes and toast yourself by
the fire."
But _Boots_ did not care a pin for their chattering, and stumped away
as evening grew on, up the hill-side to the outlying field. There he
went inside the barn and lay down; but in about an hour's time the
barn began to groan and creak, so that it was dreadful to hear.
"Well," said _Boots_ to himself, "if it isn't worse than this, I can
stand it well enough."
A little while after came another creak and an earthquake, so that the
litter in the barn flew about the lad's ears. "Oh!" said _Boots_ to
himself, "if it isn't worse than this, I daresay I can stand it out."
But just then came a third rumbling, and a third earthquake, so that
the lad thought walls and roof were coming down on his head; but it
passed off, and all was still as death about him.
"It'll come again, I'll be bound," thought _Boots_; but no, it didn't
come again; still it was, and still it stayed; but after he had lain a
little while, he heard a noise as if a horse were standing just
outside the barn-door, and cropping the grass. He stole to the door,
and peeped through a chink, and there stood a horse feeding away. So
big, and fat, and grand a horse, _Boots_ had never set eyes on; by his
side on the grass lay a saddle and bridle, and a full set of armour
for a knight, all of brass, so bright that the light gleamed from it.
"Ho, ho!" thought the lad; "it's you, is it, that eats up our hay?
I'll soon put a spoke in your wheel, just see if I don't."
So he lost no time, but took the steel out of his tinder-box, and
threw it over the horse; then it had no power to stir from the spot,
and became so tame that the lad could do what he liked with it. So he
got on its back, and rode off with it to a place which no one knew of,
and there he put up the horse. When he got home, his brothers laughed
and asked how he had fared?
"You didn't lie long in the barn, even if you had the heart to go so
far as the field."
"Well," said _Boots_, "all I can say is, I lay in the barn till the
sun rose, and neither saw nor heard anything; I can't think what there
was in the barn to make you both so afraid."
"A pretty story," said his brothers; "but we'll soon see how you have
watched the meadow;" so they set off; but when they reached it, there
stood the grass as deep and thick as it had been over night.
Well, the next St. John's eve it was the same story over again;
neither of the elder brothers dared to go out to the outlying field to
watch the crop; but _Boots_, he had the heart to go, and everything
happened just as it had happened the year before. First a clatter and
an earthquake, then a greater clatter and another earthquake, and so
on a third time; only this year the earthquakes were far worse than
the year before. Then all at once everything was as still as death,
and the lad heard how something was cropping the grass outside the
barn-door, so he stole to the door, and peeped through a chink; and
what do you think he saw? Why, another horse standing right up against
the wall, and chewing and champing with might and main. It was far
finer and fatter than that which came the year before, and it had a
saddle on its back, and a bridle on its neck, and a full suit of mail
for a knight lay by its side, all of silver, and as grand as you would
wish to see.
"Ho, ho!" said _Boots_ to himself; "it's you that gobbles up our hay,
is it? I'll soon put a spoke in your wheel;" and with that he took the
steel out of his tinder-box, and threw it over the horse's crest,
which stood as still as a lamb. Well, the lad rode this horse, too, to
the hiding-place where he kept the other one, and after that he went
home.
"I suppose you'll tell us," said one of his brothers, "there's a fine
crop this year too, up in the hayfield."
"Well, so there is," said _Boots_; and off ran the others to see, and
there stood the grass thick and deep, as it was the year before; but
they didn't give _Boots_ softer words for all that.
Now, when the third St. John's eve came, the two elder brothers still
hadn't the heart to lie out in the barn and watch the grass, for they
had got so scared at heart the nights they lay there before, that they
couldn't get over the fright; but _Boots_, he dared to go; and, to
make a very long story short, the very same thing happened this time
as had happened twice before. Three earthquakes came, one after the
other, each worse than the one which went before, and when the last
came, the lad danced about with the shock from one barn wall to the
other; and after that, all at once, it was still as death. Now when he
had laid a little while, he heard something tugging away at the grass
outside the barn, so he stole again to the door-chink, and peeped out,
and there stood a horse close outside--far, far bigger and fatter than
the two he had taken before.
"Ho, ho!" said the lad to himself, "it's you, is it, that comes here
eating up our hay? I'll soon stop that--I'll soon put a spoke in your
wheel." So he caught up his steel and threw it over his horse's neck,
and in a trice it stood as if it were nailed to the ground, and
_Boots_ could do as he pleased with it. Then he rode off with it to
the hiding-place where he kept the other two, and then went home. When
he got home, his two brothers made game of him as they had done
before, saying, they could see he had watched the grass well, for he
looked for all the world as if he were walking in his sleep, and many
other spiteful things they said, but _Boots_ gave no heed to them,
only asking them to go and see for themselves; and when they went,
there stood the grass as fine and deep this time as it had been twice
before.
Now, you must know that the king of the country where _Boots_ lived
had a daughter, whom he would only give to the man who could ride up
over the hill of glass, for there was a high, high hill, all of glass,
as smooth and slippery as ice, close by the _King's_ palace. Upon the
tip top of the hill the _King's_ daughter was to sit, with three
golden apples in her lap, and the man who could ride up and carry off
the three golden apples, was to have half the kingdom, and the
_Princess_ to wife. This the _King_ had stuck up on all the
church-doors in his realm, and had given it out in many other
kingdoms besides. Now, this _Princess_ was so lovely that all who set
eyes on her fell over head and ears in love with her whether they
would or no. So I needn't tell you how all the princes and knights who
heard of her were eager to win her to wife, and half the kingdom
beside; and how they came riding from all parts of the world on high
prancing horses, and clad in the grandest clothes, for there wasn't
one of them who hadn't made up his mind that he, and he alone, was to
win the _Princess_.
So when the day of trial came, which the king had fixed, there was
such a crowd of princes and knights under the _Glass Hill_, that it
made one's head whirl to look at them, and everyone in the country
who could even crawl along was off to the hill, for they were all
eager to see the man who was to win the _Princess_. So the two elder
brothers set off with the rest; but as for _Boots_, they said outright
he shouldn't go with them, for if they were seen with such a dirty
changeling, all begrimed with smut from cleaning their shoes and
sifting cinders in the dust-hole, they said folk would make game of
them.
"Very well," said _Boots_, "it's all one to me. I can go alone, and
stand or fall by myself."
Now when the two brothers came to the _Hill of Glass_, the knights and
princes were all hard at it, riding their horses till they were all in
a foam; but it was no good, by my troth; for as soon as ever the
horses set foot on the hill, down they slipped, and there wasn't one
who could get a yard or two up; and no wonder, for the hill was as
smooth as a sheet of glass, and as steep as a house-wall. But all were
eager to have the _Princess_ and half the kingdom. So they rode and
slipped, and slipped and rode, and still it was the same story over
again. At last all their horses were so weary that they could scarce
lift a leg, and in such a sweat that the lather dripped from them, and
so the knights had to give up trying any more. So the king was just
thinking that he would proclaim a new trial for the next day, to see
if they would have better luck, when all at once a knight came riding
up on so brave a steed, that no one had ever seen the like of it in
his born days, and the knight had mail of brass, and the horse a brass
bit in his mouth, so bright that the sunbeams shone from it. Then all
the others called out to him he might just as well spare himself the
trouble of riding at the Hill, for it would lead to no good; but he
gave no heed to them, and put his horse at the hill, and went up it
like nothing for a good way, about a third of the height; and when he
had got so far, he turned his horse round and rode down again. So
lovely a knight the _Princess_ thought she had never yet seen; and
while he was riding, she sat and thought to herself:
"Would to heaven he might only come up and down the other side."
And when she saw him turning back, she threw down one of the golden
apples after him, and it rolled down into his shoe. But when he got to
the bottom of the hill, he rode off so fast that no one could tell
what had become of him. That evening all the knights and princes were
to go before the king, that he who had ridden so far up the hill might
show the apple which the _Princess_ had thrown, but there was no one
who had anything to show. One after the other they all came, but not a
man of them could show the apple.
At even the brothers of _Boots_ came home too, and had such a long
story to tell about the riding up the hill.
"First of all," they said, "there was not one of the whole lot who
could get so much as a stride up; but at last came one who had a suit
of brass mail, and a brass bridle and saddle, all so bright that the
sun shone from them a mile off. He was a chap to ride, just! He rode a
third of the way up the _Hill of Glass_, and he could easily have
ridden the whole way up, if he chose; but he turned round and rode
down, thinking, maybe, that was enough for once."
"Oh! I should so like to have seen him, that I should," said _Boots_,
who sat by the fireside, and stuck his feet into the cinders, as was
his wont.
"Oh!" said his brothers, "you would, would you? You look fit to keep
company with such high lords, nasty beast that you are, sitting there
amongst the ashes."
Next day the brothers were all for setting off again, and _Boots_
begged them this time, too, to let him go with them and see the
riding; but no, they wouldn't have him at any price, he was too ugly
and nasty, they said.
"Well, well!" said _Boots_; "if I go at all, I must go by myself. I'm
not afraid."
So when the brothers got to the _Hill of Glass_, all the princes and
knights began to ride again, and you may fancy they had taken care to
shoe their horses sharp; but it was no good--they rode and slipped,
and slipped and rode, just as they had done the day before, and there
was not one who could get so far as a yard up the hill. And when they
had worn out their horses, so that they could not stir a leg, they
were all forced to give it up as a bad job. So the king thought he
might as well proclaim that the riding should take place the day after
for the last time, just to give them one chance more; but all at once
it came across his mind that he might as well wait a little longer, to
see if the knight in brass mail would come this day too. Well, they
saw nothing of him; but all at once came one riding on a steed, far,
far braver and finer than that on which the knight in brass had
ridden, and he had silver mail, and a silver saddle and bridle, all so
bright that the sunbeams gleamed and glanced from them far away. Then
the others shouted out to him again, saying, he might as well hold
hard, and not try to ride up the hill, for all his trouble would be
thrown away; but the knight paid no heed to them, and rode straight
at the hill, and right up it, till he had gone two-thirds of the way,
and then he wheeled his horse round and rode down again. To tell the
truth, the _Princess_ liked him still better than the knight in brass,
and she sat and wished he might only be able to come right up to the
top, and down the other side; but when she saw him turning back, she
threw the second apple after him, and it rolled down and fell into his
shoe. But, as soon as ever he had come down from the _Hill of Glass_,
he rode off so fast that no one could see what became of him.
At even, when all were to go in before the king and the _Princess_,
that he who had the golden apple might show it, in they went, one
after the other, but there was no one who had any apple to show, and
the two brothers, as they had done on the former day, went home and
told how things had gone, and how all had ridden at the hill, and none
got up.
"But, last of all," they said, "came one in a silver suit, and his
horse had a silver saddle and a silver bridle. He was just a chap to
ride; and he got two-thirds up the hill, and then turned back. He was
a fine fellow, and no mistake; and the _Princess_ threw the second
gold apple to him."
"Oh!" said _Boots_, "I should so like to have seen him too, that I
should."
"A pretty story," they said. "Perhaps you think his coat of mail was
as bright as the ashes you are always poking about, and sifting, you
nasty dirty beast."
The third day everything happened as it had happened the two days
before. _Boots_ begged to go and see the sight, but the two wouldn't
hear of his going with them. When they got to the hill there was no
one who could get so much as a yard up it; and now all waited for the
knight in silver mail, but they neither saw nor heard of him. At last
came one riding on a steed, so brave that no one had ever seen his
match; and the knight had a suit of golden mail, and a golden saddle
and bridle, so wondrous bright that the sunbeams gleamed from them a
mile off. The other knights and princes could not find time to call
out to him not to try his luck, for they were amazed to see how grand
he was. So he rode right at the hill, and tore up it like nothing, so
that the _Princess_ hadn't even time to wish that he might get up the
whole way. As soon as ever he reached the top, he took the third
golden apple from the _Princess'_ lap, and then turned his horse and
rode down again. As soon as he got down, he rode off at full speed,
and was out of sight in no time.
Now, when the brothers got home at even, you may fancy what long
stories they told, how the riding had gone off that day; and amongst
other things, they had a deal to say about the knight in golden mail.
"He just was a chap to ride!" they said; "so grand a knight isn't to
be found in the wide world."
"Oh!" said _Boots_, "I should so like to have seen him, that I
should."
"Ah!" said his brothers, "his mail shone a deal brighter than the
glowing coals which you are always poking and digging at; nasty dirty
beast that you are."
Next day all the knights and princes were to pass before the king and
the _Princess_--it was too late to do so the night before, I
suppose--that he who had the gold apple might bring it forth; but one
came after another, first the _Princes_, and then the knights, and
still no one could show the gold apple.
"Well," said the king, "some one must have it, for it was something we
all saw with our own eyes, how a man came and rode up and bore it
off."
So he commanded that every man who was in the kingdom should come up
to the palace and see if they could show the apple. Well, they all
came one after another, but no one had the golden apple, and after a
long time the two brothers of _Boots_ came. They were the last of all,
so the king asked them if there was no one else in the kingdom who
hadn't come.
"Oh, yes," said they; "we have a brother, but he never carried off the
golden apple. He hasn't stirred out of the dusthole on any of the
three days."
"Never mind that," said the king; "he may as well come up to the
palace like the rest."
So _Boots_ had to go up to the palace.
"How now," said the king; "have you got the golden apple? Speak out!"
"Yes, I have," said _Boots_; "here is the first, and here is the
second, and here is the third too;" and with that he pulled all three
golden apples out of his pocket, and at the same time threw off his
sooty rags, and stood before them in his gleaming golden mail.
"Yes!" said the king; "you shall have my daughter, and half my
kingdom, for you well deserve both her and it."
So they got ready for the wedding, and _Boots_ got the _Princess_ to
wife, and there was great merry-making at the bridal-feast, you may
fancy, for they could all be merry though they couldn't ride up the
_Hill of Glass_; and all I can say is, if they haven't left off their
merry-making yet, why, they're still at it.